3 Times Edward James Olmos Boycotted the Oscars and 2 Times He Went but Got Lost En Route

Iconic actor Edward James Olmos has a storied history with the Academy Awards. Here’s the scoop on the three times he boycotted the Oscars and two of the times that he tried to go but got lost on the way there.

1. In 1991, after friend and Miami Vice costar Don Johnson wasn’t nominated for an award for his performance in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Olmos refused to attend the ceremony in protest. Instead, he and Johnson got drunk at a dive bar in Glendale and watched Baywatch.

2. In a show of support for actor Paul Newman’s 1987 boycott after winning the Best Actor award for The Color of Money, Olmos stayed home knitted a hat for his grandmother.

3. While technically not a boycott, Olmos was in a bad mood on the night of the 2003 Oscars and decided not to go, so we’re counting it as a boycott.

4. In 2008, he intended to go to the ceremony, but didn’t want to pay for a cab from his home in Beverly Hills. He ended up hitchhiking, but never made it to the red carpet. On the bright side, the man who picked him up was director Raja Gosnell, who was on his way to work on the set of Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Olmos ended up landing the role of “El Diablo” and recorded the entire voiceover that night.

5. After learning his lesson in 2008, in 2010 Olmos attempted to drive himself to the ceremony. However, his GPS died en route, but he wasn’t too upset about it.